Abstract:
Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most widely cultivated
cereal crops throughout the world and is extensively
grown in Sri Lanka. Information on the photosynthetic,
biomass and grain yield of local maize accessions are
useful for plant breeding programs. However, due to the
scarcity of such information, this study aimed to
investigate the potentials of maize accessions to select the
best performers utilizing the rank summation and
selection index criteria. As the first step, the seeds from
14 maize accessions along with two varieties viz; Pacific999 and Bhadra (control) were established in the field.
The leaf-level photosynthetic and chlorophyll
fluorescence traits were analyzed, while biomass and
yield traits were obtained at harvest, by employing
standard techniques. Our findings revealed that traits
related to growth, photosynthesis, and biomass showed
greater variations among the maize accessions tested. The
number of days taken to 50% flowering (44d-60d),
photosynthetic rates (19.7-30.45 µmol CO2 m−2 s
−1),
transpiration rates (2.45-4.52 mmol H2O m−2 s
−1), water
use efficiency (5.69-8.13 µmol CO2 mmol H2O-1), and
maximum quantum yield (0.68-0.73) among the tested
accessions. Additionally, the variations in biomass (111.0-
459 g/plant) and final cob yield (38-232 g/cob) were also
seen among the maize accessions. According to rank
summation index analysis, the maize accessions SEU2,
SEU16, SEU15, SEU9 and SEU10 were superior in terms of
photosynthetic rates, biomass and yield compared
exhibiting with the lowest RSI values of 71, 100, 101, 103
and 117, respectively, than the cv. Bhadra. Therefore,
future crop development programs can make use of these
five potential maize accessions identified through this
study.
